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Former FERC Commissioner McIntyre Dead at 57

January 4, 2019

Kevin McIntyre, who briefly served as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), died Jan. 2 at age 57. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and had surgery to remove a tumor.

President Trump nominated McIntyre, a Republican, in August 2017 to serve as FERC chairman. He was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year—the delay was attributed to his health— and sworn in on Dec. 7, 2017. The nature of his health problems was not made public until March 2018.

At that time he said his prognosis was good, owing to “excellent health” and ongoing treatment. He said: “For reasons of personal and family privacy, I do not intend to provide further details or updates on this subject.”

McIntyre was the co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day prior to his nomination to FERC. He led a large FERC practice at Jones Day, representing clients in several energy sectors.…

Tenaska Gas-Fired Plant Comes Online in Pennsylvania

January 2, 2019

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The Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station began commercial operation on Dec. 21, the latest natural gas-fired facility to enter the PJM market.

The 940-MW Tenaska plant, located near Smithton in South Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County in southwest Pennsylvania, was built in just more than two years, though its planning and permitting process took several years due to opposition from local residents.

The plant is part of a move toward more gas-fired power in PJM, the largest competitive wholesale U.S. power market. PJM serves customers in 13 states in the eastern U.S., and the District of Columbia.

Gas-fired power surpassed coal-fired generation as the fuel of choice in PJM in 2015, as the price of natural gas dropped below the cost of coal across the region. According to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “The monthly average cost of Central Appalachian coal in the PJM region averaged $ 2.76 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) in 2013 and has only slightly increased since then, most recently averaging 3.30/MMBtu in 2017.”…

Despite Financial Hurdles, Utility Capital Spending to Remain Elevated

December 31, 2018

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Despite higher taxable income and pressure on balance sheets, capital spending by regulated utilities will remain elevated—and much of it will be dedicated to replacing aging infrastructure, hardening or efficiency-boosting measures, and on renewables and environmental projects, said Moody’s Investors Service in a recent sectoral briefing.

The credit ratings agency for the first time this June downgraded the regulated utility sector from stable to negative, pointing to a surge in financial risks as more individual companies funnel funds to debt. In a Dec. 14 briefing, Moody’s said utilities will claim less in depreciation expenses and have higher taxable income under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and most are starting to pay cash taxes as early as 2019 or 2020.

However, several utilities are still involved in extensive improvement projects, it said, warning: “This could put pressure on balance sheets depending on how much debt is used in the financing plans.”

An Unexpected Surge in Captial Spending

Capital spending for a group of 31 utility holding companies that the agency examined was expected surge to $ 100 billion in 2018, compared to $ 90 billion in 2017, Moody’s noted.…

EPA: Mercury Rules for Coal, Oil Power Units Not ‘Appropriate and Necessary’

December 28, 2018

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Because compliance costs to coal- and oil-fired power plants for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far exceed quantifiable benefits to regulating hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, the Trump administration has proposed it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate HAP emissions from power plants under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), according to a document signed by acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Andrew Wheeler on Dec. 27.

However, the EPA did not propose to remove coal- and oil-fired power plants from the list of source categories regulated under that section of the CAA, which means the 2012-finalized MATS remains in place. The EPA’s proposal, released publicly Dec. 28, is outlined in a revision to the agency’s final supplemental cost finding for MATS, which was required by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2015.

The agency on Friday also made public proposed results of the long-awaited MATS risk and technology review (RTR). The separate evaluations of risk and technology are required under CAA Section 112 every eight years after final HAP standards go into effect to determine if new developments should be incorporated into the standards.…

Tianwan Unit 4 Latest Chinese Reactor to Come Online

December 26, 2018

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Unit 4 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in China entered commercial operation this past weekend after completing commissioning. It began supplying power to the country’s national grid on Dec. 22.

Tianwan NPP is the largest facility built with a Russian-Chinese framework of economic cooperation, with Units 1 through 4 based on the VVER-1000 reactor type. Units 1 and 2 entered commercial operation in 2007, and Rosatom handed over Unit 3 to Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corp. (JNPC) in March of this year.

Tianwan Unit 4 was brought to its minimum controllable power level on Sept. 30, marking the final stage of first criticality procedures, which began Aug. 25 when the first fuel assembly was installed in the reactor. A total of 163 fuel assemblies were ultimately loaded.

Russia’s Atomstroyexport was general contractor for the project, working with JNPC. Alexey Bannik, vice president for projects in China with Rosatom’s engineering division, said the start of commercial operation of Unit 4 “means that a two-year warranty period for the plant operation has commenced, and once expired the Unit will ultimately be handed over to the Chinese Party.”…

POWER’s Top 10 Most-Read Stories from 2018

December 22, 2018

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There’s never a dull moment in the power industry, and like most years, 2018 was filled with many interesting developments. As it has been for more than 135 years, POWER was there to break the news. The following 10 articles were the most-read online stories of the year.

#10: New York Denies Air Permit for New Gas-Fired Power Plant (8/7/2018)

Competitive Power Ventures’ (CPV’s) Valley Energy Center—a natural gas-fired power plant in Wawayanda, New York—had planned to ramp up to full operations in August, but the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied the plant’s request for renewal of its air state facility permit because it lacked a federal Title V air permit. CPV sued DEC and asked for a hearing on the matter, seeking an injunction that would allow the plant to operate. The state Supreme Court in mid-August said the plant could resume startup tests pending a decision on the federal air permit. The facility achieved commercial operation on October 1, but questions remain regarding the permit situation.…